The Truth Behind Our Lies
by ThePassionOfTheRose
Summary: Casey McDonald and Derek Venturi pretend to be in love just to get through their annoying family members during Edwin and Lizzie's wedding. Little do they know, there's always a little truth behind every lie. Lizwin, Dasey
1. Pretend

1. Pretend

"Derek." Casey greeted coldly as she stepped out of her car and next to her stepbrother and ex-boyfriend, after not seeing him for five years.

The fellow twenty-nine year snorted, rubbing his hands together as he breathed out. His breath could be seen, it was so cold out. "Look, Princess, I know it didn't exactly work out between us but---"

"Derek, we should at least pretend to get along for the remainder of the week." Casey blurted out, interrupting him.

The brown-haired male smirked, a sparkle in his chocolate eyes. "So we're on the same page, for once."

"Unwillingly. I'm doing it for Lizzie."

"Well, I'm doing it for Edwin _and_ Lizzie." Derek retorted.

Casey rolled her eyes; typical Derek had to one-up her at everything. "Come on, it's cold out here."

She walked forward and rang the doorbell and Derek questioned, "Any boyfriends since you left?"

Casey immediately felt herself stiffen at his words, "No. I've been busy with my writing. I'm getting my book published, you know." She knew she sounded smug but, quite frankly, she didn't care. She walked out on him and she wanted to prove that she made the right choice. "What about you? Any girlfriends?"

Derek was silent for a minute, "Um, no."

It was a lie. A blunt, obvious lie; he wasn't used to that. The truth was, he had one girlfriend that consisted of one-night stands, broken-hearts and absolutely no spooning. Her name was Lust and she was oh-so-sweet in his eyes.

Casey raised an eyebrow, surprised she had caught a lie from the King of Lies but said nothing of it. Finally, George opened the door with a bright smile, interrupting the awkward silence between the former lovers. "Come on out of the cold, guys!"

Casey plastered a bright smile that Derek knew was fake, "Great to see you, George! How's Ash and Mike?"

George hugged his step-daughter as soon as she set down her pair of luggage, "Ash prefers to be called Ashley, now. I swear, she can't make up her mind. Mike prefers Mikey. I hate having eleven-year-old twins at such an old age."

"Oh, come on, G. You're not that old," Derek stepped in, set his belongings on top of Casey's, and hugged his dad as soon as Casey let go.

"Oh, really? Then how come on my last birthday, I got a birthday card asking if I had keeled over from a heart-attack yet?" George pulled back and eyed his eldest of his children.

Derek started cracking up immediately, "Oh, come on! That was funny!"

Casey shook her head and smacked him over the head. They two began wrestling with each other like they did when they were teenagers. This suddenly reminded George to tell them of some unlpeasant news, "Oh, by the way, you two are going to have to share a bedroom."

This caught their attention simultaneously. Each paused with a fist prepared to punch, "What?"

"Um, I'll let Nora explain..." George decided out loud, "Nora!"

Nora emerged from the kitchen with Marti at her heals, "What's wrong this time, George?"

Casey spoke up for her step-father, "Can you explain to me why Derek and I, I mean, _**Derek**_ and _**I**_, are stuck in the same bedroom _**together**_?"

"What she said." Derek added, only to be jabbed in the stomach with Casey's elbow, "Ow!"

Nora gave her daughter an apologetic look, "I'm sorry, Sweetie, but we're booked. Lizzie and Ed wanted to sleep in the same room, since it is their wedding, Abby and her husband are in your old bedroom and Marti wants to share her bedroom with the twins since she hasn't seen them since college started. You were the only two left, we had no choice. You'll get Derek's old room."

Casey rubbed her temple and glared at the girl behind her mother, "Really, Marti? Why would you do this to us? _How_ could you do this to us?"

Marti gave a nonchalant shrug, "I figured you two would be over it by now. I mean, it's been how many years already? Besides, you're the one who walked out, Case. You obviously didn't care for him, so why should it matter?"

Casey set her jaw. She couldn't believe that sweet, sweet Marti would say that to her. "You know I had my reasons, first of all. Second of all, we've always fought. I don't want to ruin the week for Ed and Liz."

Marti flung her long black hair in a short laugh, "The only reason you left was because you were afraid and you've always fought because you were scared. Your reasons aren't as legitimate as you always thought, Case."

This left both adults feeling awkward in their shoes. Casey grabbed her baggage first, "Which room?"

"Derek's old room."

"How perfect," Casey mumbled as she dragged her feet upstairs. Derek followed with a quick wink to Marti.

Casey closed the door behind her, only to have Derek angrily swing it open and slam it. "What the hell was that all about?" He practically screamed at her, "I thought we were going to 'at least pretend' to get along for the sake of Edwin and Lizzie!"

"I know, I know!" Casey retorted, almost as angry as Derek was. "They're not here yet. I just... I really can't wait for Mom to start going on about how she's happy that at least one of her daughters is getting married. Look, Derek, I'm so sorry that I changed. I wish it was like it was right before I left but it just isn't and I can't apologize for that. Marti was right; I was scared. More than anything."

"Yeah, I guess I was, too." Derek remarked, "Remember, I'm going to have to go through all of that, too but with both of my parents. Be glad your dad passed away two years ago."

Casey's eyes widened and slapped him as she tried to blink away the tears, "_That_ was uncalled for!"

"It's true, as much as it sucks." Derek shrugged, taking off his jacket and laying it perfectly on the ground.

Casey made no comment to that, "Do you think we'll get through it?"

* * *

**Disclaimer: I do not own Life with Derek or any of the above characters mentioned except for a few OC's such as Mikey, Ashley and Abby's husband.**

**Author's Note: Woot! I'm back! I really hoped you guys enjoyed this first chapter. I'll try to update as much as possible. Please review. =]**

**God bless!  
Rose**


	2. Two Weeks

_Casey's eyes widened and slapped him as she tried to blink away the tears, "_That_ was uncalled for!"_

_"It's true, as much as it sucks." Derek shrugged, taking off his jacket and laying it perfectly on the ground._

_Casey made no comment to that, "Do you think we'll get through it?"_

2. Two Weeks

"We'll have to see," Derek sat down next to her, allowing his shoulders to sag and his brows knit together in thought. He jumped up in a pure _Eureka! _moment after not even five minutes had passed. "I've got it!"

"What?" Casey arched another brow.

"We pretend to hook back up." Derek smirked at her disgruntled expression.

"Um, no."

"Oh, come on! We'll make them be sorry that they ever put us in the same room, let alone the same house!" It made sense to Derek and, at the moment, that was all that mattered. Casey could use common sense to her advantage but he knew what made sense to him.

Casey appeared to muse over the idea for a moment before finally relenting, "Fine. Touch my butt, though, and you're through."

Derek only smirked in response. As much as he didn't want to admit it, especially not to Casey, he was really torn apart when she left him. He even considered suicide at one point. Marti somehow managed to knock some sense into him, though. "Can you tell me why you left, again?"

Casey gnawed on the bottom of her lip, "I thought I already told you; I was scared."

"Yes, I know," Derek shook his head defiantly, "I'm not that stupid. I just don't understand why you were so scared."

Casey felt herself stiffen for what seemed like the millionth time that night, "I felt like we were moving too quickly."

"What do you mean, too quickly? We had been dating since we were _nineteen_. That's almost six years!"

"Exactly," Casey returned, just as vehemently. "We had been dating for nearly six years, we were engaged and we hadn't given anyone a chance since Emily for you and Truman for me. We hadn't even considered how it would affect our family or our friends." It looked to Derek that she was about to start crying; he felt a strange urge to reach out and hug her. "Besides, it's better this way. Ed and Liz are happy and that's all that we wanted anyway. I'm not even sure how I felt about you. Oh, and I lied. I did have a boyfriend a little while after I left."

Derek looked down at his shoes, "Well, I guess that now we've got that out of the way... All that's left is to pretend."

Casey could only nod her assessment, "No kissing, though."

"Whatever. When do we tell the fam about our 'relationship'?"

"After dinner."

As if on cue, a blonde-haired little girl poked her head in to say, "Dinner's ready."

--

"So, how excited are you two for your wedding?" Casey inquired as the blended family finished up their meal.

Lizzie and Edwin looked up and swallowed their current bite, "Um, for the millionth time, Case, we're ecstatic." Was Lizzie's response while Edwin only scarfed down more of his meal.

Casey blushed, "I know. I guess I'm just as excited for you. Can you blame your big sis? You're getting married! I mean, you're getting married to the person we always knew you'd get married to!"

Lizzie arched a brow at her sister, "Uh, you guys always knew we'd get married?"

Casey nodded enthusiastically while the others around her shook their heads 'no'. This caused Lizzie to jump up, throwing her napkin on the table and running up the stairs to the room she shared with Edwin. Not a moment later, the group heard the door slam.

Casey stared at the stares for the longest time before giving her family a puzzled look, "What'd I say?"

Edwin rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably, "Casey, there's a reason why we planned this wedding less than a month after our engagement..."

"Oh, really?" Casey got a romantic look in her eyes, "You guys just couldn't wait to be permanently together? That's really sweet. You know, if my fiancè wanted to get married one month after our engagement, I would be the happiest girl on the planet. Why is this upsetting Lizzie s---"

As she was saying this, Derek was slamming his head into the table and Nora was shaking her head with impatience.

"Casey!" Edwin finally interrupted, not sure as to why she hadn't noticed Derek's actions or her mother's. "The reason why we are getting married so soon after our engagement is because two weeks ago, we found out that she was pregnant."

Casey, who was conveniently taking a sip of her green tea at that moment, did a spit-take. "What?" She nearly yelled, then apologized to Marti for spitting the tea all over her.

"It's okay." Marti sighed, picking up her napkin and wiping her face.

Giving her step-sister an apologetic glance, Casey excused herself from the table and joined Lizzie upstairs.

* * *

**Disclaimer: I do not own Life with Derek or any of the above characters mentioned except for a few OC's such as Mikey, Ashley and Abby's husband.**

**Author's Note: Thanks for all the reviews so far! They're all really making my day! =] Keep them coming!**

**God bless!  
Rose**


	3. He Still Loves You

_As she was saying this, Derek was slamming his head into the table and Nora was shaking her head with impatience._

_"Casey!" Edwin finally interrupted, not sure as to why she hadn't noticed Derek's actions or her mother's. "The reason why we are getting married so soon after our engagement is because two weeks ago, we found out that she was pregnant."_

_Casey, who was conveniently taking a sip of her green tea at that moment, did a spit-take. "What?" She nearly yelled, then apologized to Marti for spitting the tea all over her._

_"It's okay." Marti sighed, picking up her napkin and wiping her face._

_Giving her step-sister an apologetic glance, Casey excused herself from the table and joined Lizzie upstairs._

3. He Still Loves You

"Liz?" Casey knocked softly on her sister's bedroom door.

"Go away, Case." Came the muffled response from behind the door.

"I'm sorry, Liz, I really had no idea." Casey shook the knob and it came loose. She poked her head in, distressed by the depressed form that was her baby sister. "Oh, Lizard!"

Casey sprinted to the bed that her sister laid on, her beautiful face hidden by a blue pillow, and began rubbing her back soothingly. "Why didn't you tell me, hon? I would have understood."

Lizzie lifted her head and looked at her sister in disbelief, "I don't know. I guess, well, when we got engaged we experienced each other, truly, for the first time. It was the most amazing thing in my life, Case, you really have no idea."

Casey winced at her sister's words; she did have an idea, and a really good one. She had experienced the same thing with her former fiancè. "There's nothing wrong with that, Liz, you know that." Casey regained her composure to reassure her sister, "You and Ed are committed to each other for life, anyway, so what's wrong with making love when you know for sure that you'll be together forever?"

Lizzie seemed to buy into her words, at first, then sighed and looked away. "I love him more than anything, Casey, I really do. I just... I'm not sure if I want to be tied to him for the rest of my life with a baby to take care of. That's not the right way to start a life together, despite popular belief. It makes everything difficult and it feels like I'm only marrying him because I'm defenseless, carrying his child."

Casey embraced her simultaneously, "You don't have to go through with this. You can walk away, right now. I won't blame you. Mom won't blame you. I doubt even Ed would blame you."

"I want to marry him, though." Lizzie seemed unsure of herself, "At least, I thought I did."

Casey gave her an empathetic smile, "I know what you mean. Just, don't wait until the last minute to make your decision, okay? Don't make it any harder than it has to be."

Lizzie nodded and patted her stomach absently, "I'm not giving up the baby, though, Case."

Casey felt her jaw go slack, amazed that her sister would accuse her of wanting that. "Of course not."

Lizzie didn't continue on the subject so Casey took an unnecessary breath because she realized that her sister wasn't accusing her of that at all, just stating a fact that she just wanted to be understood. Casey did understand; a baby was a precious life, even in the womb. No one should have had the right to destroy that, no matter what the situation.

"I'll let you get some rest, kiddo." Casey stood, kissing her sister's right cheek and turning to walk away.

"Casey?" Lizzie stopped her before she had lef out the door completely.

"What?"

"Was it the same for you and Derek when you got engaged? Is that when you made love for the first time?" Lizzie inquired, making sure her question was clear.

A sad smile graced Casey's lips, "Yes. Don't let that drive your decision, though, kiddo. It had been right for me to walk away when I did. At least, at the time. If I could take it back, I probably would, though. I'll never forgive myself for hurting Derek like I did."

Lizzie nodded, musing over what Casey had just said. Casey turned to leave once again, "Casey!"

Casey turned around the second time, her expression weary and sad, "Yes?"

"I'm sorry about you and Derek. You know he's already forgiven you for that, though, right?"

Casey shook her head, "If that's the case, then it doesn't stop him from teasing me about it."

"That's his way of coping, Case. Haven't you realized that? You've lived with him longer than I have and I picked it out from the very beginning. He still loves you. Even if he has forgiven you, which he has, it still hurts."

"Thanks, Lizzie." Casey scowled but gave a smile at the thought of Derek still loving her, "No, really, thank you, Liz." Her second sentence was more sincere than the first, letting her sister know that she really appreciated her efforts. Casey left then, amazed to find Derek leaning against their door frame, a smirk present on his lips. "What'd you hear out of all that?"

Derek shook his head to clear his thoughts, "What?"

He clearly hadn't been paying attention, which caused Casey to relax a bit more. "Nothing, never mind."

"Whatever you say, Space-Case."

"Shut up, Derek." Casey growled at her former nickname that she had earned from studying too much while they were roommates in college.

Before Derek could say anything else, Mikey walked up the stairs, right in the middle of them. He felt the tension that Casey hadn't even realized was there and rushed even quicker to his room.

The next thing she knew, Casey pushed Derek into their room and on their bed. She slammed the door behind her while he layed there, confused. "Um, what was that for?"

"Did you tell Mom and George yet?" She asked impatiently, tapping her toe.

"No," Derek snorted, "someone made an inconsiderate comment and it kind of ruined it."

Casey stuck her tongue out at him, childishly and then sobered. "We're going to have to make it a bit more believable, you know."

Derek rubbed the back of his neck, "Yeah, I do. Nora asked me about my love-life when we were washing the dishes. I swear, that's the _last time_ I offer to help her with anything." Casey snorted, surprised that he had even offered in the first place. "What do you suggest?"

She nibbled on her lip, almost embarrassed at what she was about to say. "Why don't we practice," she coughed, "kissing each other? That way it'll appear natural and without struggle?"

Derek pursed his lips, deep in thought. "That could work, I suppose. We could also act like we did when we were actually a couple, too."

"Yeah." Casey agreed and wondered, "What do you want to do first?"

"I think acting like we used to will come along naturally." Derek shrugged, "Like riding a bike; you never forget."

Casey nodded, "All right... How do we, um, start?"

Derek chuckled, giving her his hand to take. "It doesn't mean anything," he reminded her as she took his hand and he pulled her ontop of him on the bed.

"Of course not," Casey agreed as she felt his warm breath on her face, " it's just practice - to make the family happy."

His lips smashed against hers, setting a rhythm. The touch of his lips on hers felt much like their first kiss so many years ago; electrifying, intense and passionate. His hands moved systematically down her sides, giving her the feel of it. She took it up a notch further, taking her hands from on his chest to around his neck and then clutching his hair.

As the kiss grew longer, their breath grew ragged. They had rolled over, switching positions on the bed, and Derek was hovering over her small frame, careful to support his weight on either side of her. They pulled apart, to take a breath of fresh air.

Casey dared to look right into Derek's eyes, after having them closed for so long, "It means nothing, right?"

"Right." Derek mumbled after a second, pulling her toward him once again in secret desire that they each shared.

* * *

**Disclaimer: I do not own Life with Derek or any of the above characters mentioned except for a few OC's such as Mikey, Ashley, Abby's husband, and the new Venturi on the way.**

**Author's Note: What do you think? Continue? Review, please.**

**God bless!  
Rose**


	4. Practical Jokes

_His lips smashed against hers, setting a rhythm. The touch of his lips on hers felt much like their first kiss so many years ago; electrifying, intense and passionate. His hands moved systematically down her sides, giving her the feel of it. She took it up a notch further, taking her hands from on his chest to around his neck and then clutching his hair._

_As the kiss grew longer, their breath grew ragged. They had rolled over, switching positions on the bed, and Derek was hovering over her small frame, careful to support his weight on either side of her. They pulled apart, to take a breath of fresh air._

_Casey dared to look right into Derek's eyes, after having them closed for so long, "It means nothing, right?"_

_"Right." Derek mumbled after a second, pulling her toward him once again in secret desire that they each shared._

4. Practical Jokes

Early the next morning, Casey slipped out of the bed she was forced to share with Derek and pulled her fluffy, pink robe over her shoulders and went straight to the bathroom. As soon as she was there, she looked at the bags under her eyes, in the mirror, and groaned. She couldn't believe Derek had done this to her again.

She turned to the shower and adjusted the knob to hot and on. She then waited for the shower to heat up while she stretched her eyelids every-which-way in the mirror, shaking her head with a grimace every time. She looked worse than death.

As she gingerly stepped into the shower, Casey allowed her mind to review the events of the previous night. She immediately wanted to kill herself for letting it get so intense. It was almost as if they had never separated.

What scared her the most was that she forgot the real reason why she left him. The reason that probably everyone in her family would understand if she was woman-enough to blurt it out.

_Derek was never able to tell me that he loved me, _Casey mentally groaned as she rubbed the soap against her skin. _Who's to say that this time won't be any different? I can't do this. I'm not going to wig out my family with this complete lie. They'd never forgive us. I'd never forgive us. He never loved me and I never loved him. Okay, so maybe I _did _love him but I wasn't actually in love with him... And the only person he'll ever be in love with is himself. I'm just going to have to accept that and move on._

Casey shook her head to clear her thoughts, turning the shower off.

Derek laid in bed, not moving, letting his thoughts roam. He couldn't believe he had let Casey do that to him again. There was no way he had let her go to his head once again. He was hard-headed and he liked keeping people out. He didn't understand how the bane of her existance could continuously make a break through.

_I should be giving her a bit more credit, _Derek snorted at his thought. _Sally tried and tried again to get inside my head. I suppose Casey did, too, at once. She failed when she tried but once she finally gave up, when she left, it was a whole knew story. I can't keep opening up to her like that. God, I'm such an idiot!_

Derek sat up and rubbed his temples lazily and made a decision, _I've got to rebuild my walls and make them stronger than they once were. She's not going to break through anymore. I won't let her._

"_**Mom**_!" Ashley screeched at the top of her lungs, causing Casey to slip as she got out of the shower. Thankfully, she was able to clutch to the edge of the sink and pull herself up before her head hit the floor.

Casey hurriedly wrapped the towel around her and walked out the bathroom door, glaring at her half-sister, "What's wrong?" She immediately bit her tongue when she saw the green goop running down the girl's beautiful, golden hair.

"Why don't you ask _Michael_?" The sixth grader inquired, a juicy tint of anger oozing off her voice like the goop on her hair.

Casey cringed when her sister said "Michael" instead of "Mikey". They only called each other by their full names - Ashley and Michael - when they were truly angry with one another.

Derek opened his bedroom door then, "Did Ashley just call Mikey by his full name?"

Casey nodded numbly, still clutching her towel around her. "_Michael_!"

Michael came from around the corner, still chuckling. When he saw the expression on his oldest sister's face, he stopped immediately. "Um. Hey, Case."

Casey set her jaw, "Don't you dare talk to me that way. What did you do to Ash?"

"Simple; I filled a bucket up with goop, tied it to the top of the door and when she opened it..." Mikey shrugged, "You can guess the rest."

Derek smirked, walking over to his little brother, rubbing his head proudly, "Nice." Then pulled the boy back nearby Derek's bedroom door.

"Don't _encourage _it, Der-ek!" Casey growled, "What if you didn't adjust it properly and the bucket had hit Ashley in the head? Or what if someone else had opened the door before her?"

"Well, none of that happened." Mikey retorted, "So I think we're good here."

"No, you're not." Ashley snarled, "Mom!"

Nora finally arrived at the scene of the crime, "Oh, Ashley! What happened?"

"Another one of Mikey's _'practical'_ jokes." Casey and Ashley hissed at the same time.

Nora turned to her one-and-only son, "Michael Venturi you are grounded from playing hockey and watching television for a week."

Nora then turned on her heal, back downstairs to enjoy the rest of her "quiet" morning.

Casey looked at her sister sadly, "Let me get dressed and I'll help you get that mess out of your hair. Wait in the bathroom for me, okay?" She then walked over to Derek's bedroom door, turned her nose in the air at her step-brother and half-brother, pushed Derek out of the way, and closed the door behind her.

Derek shook his head, ashamed.

"Dude, I can't believe you're in love with that piece of sh-"

"Don't say it," Derek interrupted, "or would you rather go for two weeks in jail?"

* * *

**Disclaimer: I do not own Life with Derek or any of the above characters mentioned except for a few OCs such as Mikey, Ashley, Abby's husband, and the new Venturi on the way.**

**Author's Note: Let me start by saying, thank you SO MUCH for waiting this song and EVEN MORE for all the reviews. You guys rock my world. I'm a bit more ecstatic than usual because recently I found out that the guy I've been crushing on... Okay, well, we just met last week and immediately liked each other. We've got everything in common. I never expected to like someone who had everything in common with me. It's a bit strange. Anyway, I just found out that he likes me back. We're not going to date yet but we very well could once school starts back up. Who knows?**

**Also, I'm working on putting together a playlist for this story on my profile. It'll simply be a list of songs and a youtube link. I hope you'll like them. :D**

**Merry Christmas, happy holidays, and God bless!  
Rose**


	5. Lies

_Casey looked at her sister sadly, "Let me get dressed and I'll help you get that mess out of your hair. Wait in the bathroom for me, okay?" She then walked over to Derek's bedroom door, turned her nose in the air at her step-brother and half-brother, pushed Derek out of the way, and closed the door behind her._

_Derek shook his head, ashamed._

_"Dude, I can't believe you're in love with that piece of sh---"_

_"Don't say it," Derek interrupted, "or would you rather go for two weeks in jail?"_

5. Lies

"Casey, can you hold the train up real quick?" Questioned Lizzie as she turned herself around on the pedestal.

"If you'd quick moving, maybe I could." Huffed Casey, finally able to snatch the fabric in her slender hands. She looked in the mirror so she could see what her sister looked like, "Oh, Liz! You're beautiful."

"Thanks," Lizzie gritted her teeth as she tried to fix the veil.

Nora beamed at her two oldest daughters, "This is a great last-fitting before the wedding. Can you guys believe it's less than three days away now?"

Lizzie and Casey exchanged glances as they had been reminded non-stop ever since they had walked in the store, "No."

Absently, Casey's thoughts drifted to the last time she had gone to this store, a little over five years ago, but there was a different McDonald girl on the pedestal, trying on her dream-wedding dress. She groaned, shaking her head; trying to clear her thoughts.

She wanted to say that part of her life was over and done with but Derek was still in her life, she was still hurting and somewhere, deep, deep down, Derek was hurting as well. The last thing Casey would have ever realized was that Derek would be thinking about the same thing at home.

"Casey and I kissed the other night!" He blurted out. The only sound heard was the sound of a hockey team scoring and their fans going wild with anticipation. The real noise that mattered, at that moment, was the noise of his family... His dad, Mikey and Edwin mattered, at least.

Edwin coughed uncomfortably, "So... Are you guys going to get back together?"

"Yes," Derek nodded, almost too eagerly, "but she wanted us to tell the entire family at one given time. She's going to _kill_ me."

"We won't be the wiser, Derek." George grinned, wrapping an arm around his oldest son in a side-hug. "We're just glad the two of you finally sorted it out."

"I would," Mikey snorted, only to receive glares from the older men around him, "...or wouldn't."

Meanwhile, Casey had blurted out the exact same thing, causing Lizzie to nearly trip in her gown.

"What?" Marti, Nora and Lizzie screamed at once.

"Don't... Don't tell anyone I told you." Casey groaned, "We're supposed to tell everyone at dinner tonight, you know, _together_. I just don't think we ever fell out of love."

Marti made a concealed snort, glaring at her step-sister. Lizzie, on the other hand, clapped excitedly, "Très bien, ma sœur! Je suis trés content pour vous deux!"

Casey giggled at her sister's French, "Merci beaucoup! Seriously, though, don't tell anyone."

Nora tried to hide her ecstatic grin, "We don't even know what you're talking about. Derek-who?" She winked at Casey, who sighed with relief.

"Derek Venturi! Your step-son, my half-brother." Ashley rolled her eyes at her mother, "Duh."

"Ashley, Sweetheart, I know who it is, I'm just saying that we're not going to let anyone know that we know." Nora informed her youngest, "And don't you dare roll your eyes at me again."

"Oh."

Nora pulled on Lizzie's train, "Come on, let's go get changed and pay for the dress." The two adjourned into the dressing room, Ashley in tow.

Marti turned to Casey, "Tell me what's going on because I really don't believe the crap about you and Derek."

Casey arched a brow but relented anyway, "Marti, you know your brother better than anyone else could, better than I could even try---"

"That's not true."

"What?"

Marti gave her a saddened grin, "Although I pride myself with being able to read people, Casey, you've been able to read him better than I ever could. Now, go on with the story if you want me to explain what I mean later."

"Um, okay," was Casey's dazed response. "I'll have to tell you my side of the story later on because then, I think, you'll be able to understand much better. Anyway, Mom and George were giving us grief about still being single after so many years apart..."

"So you devised a plan to pretend to get back together so the two of you could survive this week with the family. Brilliant." Marti smirked, almost an exact mirror of Derek's smirk.

"Yeah," Casey smiled, as well, "but I think I might still, actually..."

"Be in love with him?" Marti guessed automatically.

"You've got to stop doing that, kiddo." Casey shook her head, "Yes, though. Please don't say, 'Well you shouldn't have left him because then you'd be married to him and you'd be perfectly happy and blah blah blah'. Okay? You have to hear my side of the story before you accuse me of actually wanting to leave him. I never wanted to leave him, Marti."

"Then why did you?" Marti questioned, tears about to spill over. The truth was that when Casey and Derek had split up, it had hurt her the most; probably more than Derek and Casey themselves.

Casey glanced over at the dressing room, where the rest of their clan stepped out. "Meet me in my room tomorrow after breakfast and I'll explain everything."

The next day, Marti did as promised. She arrived in Casey's room as soon as breakfast was over, locking the door behind her for Casey's sake. "Begin explaining, please."

Casey sighed, "Okay, first of all I know that you think I'm some hideous person for just ditching your brother on the side of the road with little to know explanation. I apologize for that and hope to one day make it up to him."

Silence.

"Marti, do you know what it's like to give all of yourself to someone and not even know if they even love you?"

Marti raised her brows in shock, "Um, no."

"Then you probably won't understand me that well because that's exactly what I felt about Derek. I knew how I felt about him and I knew that he wanted to marry me but... Marti, the guy never once told me he loved me."

"The big fat engagement ring wasn't enough?" Marti snorted.

Casey rolled her eyes, "It wasn't a big ring, you know that, and no; it wasn't enough. If a person isn't told something constantly, Marti, they begin to disbelieve it. That's what happened to me. I wasn't told enough, at all, actually, that he loved me. Therefore, I walked."

"When did you come to this conclusion?"

"The morning after our engagement."

* * *

**French: Très bien, ma sœur! Je suis trés content pour vous deux!  
English: Very good, my sister! I am very happy for you two!  
French: Merci beaucoup!  
English: Thank you very much!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Life with Derek or any of the above characters mentioned except for a few OCs such as Mikey, Ashley, Abby's husband, and the new Venturi on the way.**

**Author's Note: Enjoy the French? I had to add some of what I learned (which is still just French 1, so in case I messed something up)... I also learned that Canada speaks tons of French so it's common for people to know the language. There's a playlist located on my profile. Also, the next chapter will be Casey telling her side of the story so there will possibly be a point of view change. I haven't decided, for sure, yet. Enjoy the playlist. :)**

**Merry Christmas and God bless!  
Rose**


	6. Hurt

_"Then you probably won't understand me that well because that's exactly what I felt about Derek. I knew how I felt about him and I knew that he wanted to marry me but... Marti, the guy never once told me he loved me."_

_"The big fat engagement ring wasn't enough?" Marti snorted._

_Casey rolled her eyes, "It wasn't a big ring, you know that, and no; it wasn't enough. If a person isn't told something constantly, Marti, they begin to disbelieve it. That's what happened to me. I wasn't told enough, at all, actually, that he loved me. Therefore, I walked."_

_"When did you come to this conclusion?"_

_"The morning after our engagement."_

6. Hurt

"So it was an immediate regret? You know, after you made love to him?" Marti inquired, interested in the new piece to her puzzle. For Casey, though, it wasn't new at all. It was just one of the missing links that she had been too stubborn to acknowledge. It had always been there, though, hovering over her shoulder; it was haunting her.

Quite frankly, despite the missing link, Casey wasn't at all too comfortable with the fact that everyone in her family knew that she and Derek had sex right before she walked. _For Pete's sake, I'm a thirty-year-old woman. I should be allowed to make my own decisions, my own mistakes, without my entire family figuring it out. That's the problem, _concluded Casey, _Derek was and _is_ family. This has always been a mistake._

Casey shook her head in disagreement, "No, it wasn't regret at all, Marti."

"Then what was it?" Marti returned as the rest of the crew returned to get in the car.

"What was what?" Nora prodded, not hearing the conversation.

"Nothing," the two girls said at the same time.

Casey then texted Marti, "I'll tell you later."

Marti nodded, acknowledging the text.

"Derek," Casey said after they returned home, "can I talk to you in our room?"

Everyone in the family room exchanged secret glances with one another. At least, the glances were only secret to Casey and Derek, who didn't see them. "Sure thing, Princess." Casey rolled her eyes and the two raced up stairs.

Closing the door behind her, Casey admitted to telling all the girls about their 'relationship'. She knew Derek would be angry with her but she'd rather face a pissed-off Derek than her unforgiving conscience any day. She was right, Derek was pissed off. Little did Casey know that he had done exactly the same thing with his male patrons.

Derek groaned, "Casey, Casey, Casey... I can't believe you did that! I had trusted you so, so much. How could you?"

"I know, I know..." Casey stopped, "Wait a minute. You're trying to have something to hold over me."

"What?" Derek put a hand on her shoulder, confused.

"Yeah, you don't care at all that I told them. Heck, I'm sure you told the guys, too." She was just coming up with this off the top of her head because she didn't want him to be mad at her.

Amazed that he had been caught in his own lie, Derek stumbled for his words, "How'd you find out?"

Casey's eyes widened and she paused to think up a response, "...You... You just told me!"

Derek face-palmed, "That was a rookie-mistake! I should have known!"

Casey licked her lips, "Yeah, you should have."

"Dinner!" Marti yelled from downstairs.

Before Derek could run out the door like an excited, little kid does when the icecream truck drives down the street, Casey said something that stopped him from doing so. "I think we should call this off."

Derek removed his hand from the door knob and turned back around, slowly. "Call what off?"

"We should call off our fake relationship." Casey stated like it was the most obvious conclusion in the world.

Derek sat back down on their bed, a desperate sigh escaping his lips.

"Are you okay, Derek?" Asked a concerned Casey, resting a hand on his shoulder.

Derek grabbed her wrist and jerked it, forcing her to come face-to-face with him, "Cassandra, don't you _**ever**_ say those words to me ever again."

Casey tried to yank her wrist out of his hands, "Derek, that hurts!" He didn't acknowledge her, though, which made her realize that he was clearly upset about what she had said. "I'm confused. Don't say what, exactly?"

Derek threw her wrist to the side, avoiding eye-contact with her, "It doesn't matter anyway."

Casey rubbed her wrist while sitting down next to him. She risked laying her hand on his shoulder again just to comfort him, "Yes, it does matter. If it upsets you so much, I don't want to say it again." Derek continued to stare coldly at the wooden floor. Casey rubbed his shoulder, trying to get him to loosen up, "Der? Come on, Derek, you know I'm always here for you."

"Except you weren't here or there for me." Derek spat, standing up from his seat.

Casey suddenly found what Derek was staring at very interesting, "I know... I'm sorry. I can never take back what I did. I can wish and pray that I never did what I did but it will always be there."

Derek turned around, "That's exactly what you told me in the letter you left."

Casey stared at him, puzzled, "I didn't apologize in the letter, Derek..."

"No, you didn't, but you said the exact words 'I think we should call this off'. That's what you wrote, Casey. The very first line of your letter said those exact words. You then went on about how you thought you were rushing, how frightened you were." Derek sounded disgusted with the letter but what sounded like disgust was really hurt.

"You remember that?" Casey gasped; she had figured Derek would just throw it away.

"Remember it?" Derek spat once more, "I read that letter every single night for two years after you left me, Case. Two years I wasted over contemplating what went wrong and how I could try to win you back. After I realized that you were never going to come back to a sad excuse for a man like me, I got angry. Actually, I got so pissed off that I figured that the only way I could get back at you was by having sex with every girl in Toronto. My life has consisted of leaving girls broken-hearted after one night for the past three years. So, yeah, you could say that I remember it."

* * *

**Author's Note: Wow, guys, I'm so sorry I haven't updated in forever! I'll start updating more often soon, though, I promise!**


	7. Sense

_Derek turned around, "That's exactly what you told me in the letter you left."_

_Casey stared at him, puzzled, "I didn't apologize in the letter, Derek..."_

_"No, you didn't, but you said the exact words 'I think we should call this off'. That's what you wrote, Casey. The very first line of your letter said those exact words. You then went on about how you thought you were rushing, how frightened you were." Derek sounded disgusted with the letter but what sounded like disgust was really hurt._

_"You remember that?" Casey gasped; she had figured Derek would just throw it away._

_"Remember it?" Derek spat once more, "I read that letter every single night for two years after you left me, Case. Two years I wasted over contemplating what went wrong and how I could try to win you back. After I realized that you were never going to come back to a sad excuse for a man like me, I got angry. Actually, I got so pissed off that I figured that the only way I could get back at you was by having sex with every girl in Toronto. My life has consisted of leaving girls broken-hearted after one night for the past three years. So, yeah, you could say that I remember it."_

7. Sense

Derek Venturi and Casey McDonald, even their names screamed "opposites". Their actions, personalities and arguments with one another merely proved it. Somehow, someway, their opposite natures proved how perfect they were for each other to everyone, except themselves.

"What do you think is taking them so long?" Questioned Nora worriedly after ten minutes of waiting for the last two people to show up at the dinner table. She had been tapping her fingers impatiently for the past seven minutes, trying to figure it out.

"Make-up s-" Before Edwin could completely answer, George whacked him over the head. "_**Ouch**_!"

Lizzie rolled her eyes, "They are most likely discussing something, _honey_. I know my sister and she definitely looked like she needed to talk to him about something."

Edwin disagreed, "Well, _honey_, I know my brother. He definitely had something else in mind, especially since they just got back to-"

He was cut off once again by George kicking his shin.

"Ow!" Edwin howled once again, "Is this Injure-The-Groom Night?"

"Wait," mused Lizzie, "were you about to say that Derek and Casey are back together?"

A frustrated George let out a groan, "We were supposed to act like we knew _nothing_, Edwin! They're supposed to tell everyone _together_."

"Did Derek tell you?" Guessed Marti, "Casey told us..."

"See, they already knew!" Edwin defended himself, only to get whacked over the head again. "Mom!"

Abby shrugged, "Don't talk to your father that way." This was followed by group laughter and Edwin rubbing his injured head.

Silence echoed Derek's harsh confession. Casey had absolutely no idea how to respond to that. She didn't want to respond to that. It hurt her. She didn't want to admit to that but it truly hurt her. "Don't worry, I've been tested for STDs." Derek muttered, bitterly. Clearly, he had taken her silence the wrong way, which dissettled Casey further.

Instead of trying ro assure him that she wasn't thinking that, Casey walked out the door. A moment later, she walked back in. "I told my mom we wouldn't join them for dinner."

"Why?" He didn't even mention that he needed food.

Casey grabbed his hand and pulled him to their bed to sit down. "We have to talk."

"I have nothing else to say to you, _Princess_."

Casey winced at the harsh, cold tone of his words. She wasn't sure if she could say anything to him at all anymore. She didn't know how to respond. Once again, she was speechless. She felt the courage to say what she needed to say, though. "Then listen to what _I_ have to say... Maybe you'll have something to say then."

Derek merely snorted, folding his arms over his chest like a five-year-old who didn't get his way.

Casey sighed, "There's really no excuse for what I did. Even the truth doesn't make sense, Der. Quite honestly, I'm surprised you've talked to me at all this trip. I hurt you. I'm certainly not proud of that, although most girls would probably be ready to bask in that 'glory'." Casey spat that word. She didn't know how anybody could enjoy hurting someone, especially someone they cared about. She didn't see any _glory_ in it at all.

"I'm going to tell you the truth, Derek, because you deserve at least that much. For the longest time, I thought I'd made the right decision. That is, until this week when I saw you again and everyonce convinced me, without saying it, how much of a mistake I made.

"The truth is, I was afraid that you didn't want me." Noticing Derek's astonished expression, Casey giggled. "Yeah, I know; it seems like my insecurities ruin my life. It wasn't something I necessarily considered the night of our engagement. I was so caught up in finally having the 'perfect' wedding I had always dreamed about when I was a kid. It seemed even more perfect to me because I was marrying you instead of Malibu Ken."

Derek let out a small chuckle at that but returned to glowering soon after. "If it was so perfect, then why did you walk?"

"Why does anybody leave?" Casey pondered, mostly to herself. "I didn't think you loved me."

Derek gave Casey a "Wow, really?" glance. That really pissed him off. _How could she think that? _He wondered, _Why would she even consider something so unbelievably inconceivable?_

Casey shook her head, "Yeah, I know. With all the fabulous gifts you drowned me in, how could I not think that you loved me? There was a reason I left those behind, Derek. I didn't want the fabulous gifts from you. I didn't want anything from you except for yourself. It seemed like that was the one thing I wasn't getting from you."

"Casey, I proposed to you!" Derek argued, "If that's not 'giving' myself to you, then I don't know what is! Marriage is a life-long commitment and by proposing to you, I was showing that I was ready for that, ready to have you for the rest of my life."

Casey sighed once more, "I told you that the truth didn't even sound good."

Derek rolled his eyes, "Yeah, I know."

"Do you know how many times you said 'I love you' to me?" Casey questioned, catching Derek off-guard.

"No."

"Exactly." Casey muttered, "That was exactly my point. I told you every day, even after we had fought, that I loved you. Your response was either a 'mhm' or absolutely nothing. I was lucky to hear it from you even once a year. Sure, in the first year of our relationship, I heard it all the time... It eventually subsided though. I don't even know why I didn't think about it when I had said yes. I should have said no. Of course, when I'm making a huge life decision, I didn't consider what was most important to me. I didn-"

Derek pulled her onto his lap, "None of that makes sense, Case. Trust me, if I had known it was important to you, I would have said that. Considering that you didn't say no the night we got engaged tells me that you really wanted to be married to me. I didn't realize that until now, of course, but you wanted to be married to me, even if I didn't say 'I love you' as much as I should have. Something tells me that you wouldn't be trying to apologize to me and trying to straighten this whole ordeal out if it weren't for the fact that you're still in love me, even if it's just a little bit."

Casey didn't respond and avoided all eye-contact with her former-fiancé.

Derek took her chin in his hand and lightly forced it up, so she would look at him. When he was sure she was looking directly in his eyes, he said, "Casey, I'm in love with you. I've always been in love with you and I always will be, no matter what happens to us."

Casey's piercing blue eyes connected to his chocolate brown eyes. She didn't even have time to second-guess her decision.

Their lips crashed together.

* * *

**Author's Note: ... :)**


	8. Nothing

_Derek took her chin in his hand and lightly forced it up, so she would look at him. When he was sure she was looking directly in his eyes, he said, "Casey, I'm in love with you. I've always been in love with you and I always will be, no matter what happens to us."_

_Casey's piercing blue eyes connected to his chocolate brown eyes. She didn't even have time to second-guess her decision._

_Their lips crashed together._

8. Nothing

Derek's entire body stiffened when Casey shifted in bed. He reflexively wrapped his arm around her slim waist so she wouldn't run away from him again. He couldn't let that happen; he had just gotten her back. She giggled softly at this and turned so she could face him, "Derek?"

"Mm?" He mumbled sleepily.

"We should probably get up. You know we're having lunch with Lizzie's bridesmaids and Ed's friends. I'm surprised you've been able to survive this long without food." She snorted at the last comment; it was so unlike Derek to not eat dinner, dessert, his midnight snack, or breakfast. All four meals he missed.

"But it's so nice right here," Derek opened his eyes so he could admire her cute face.

In return, Casey kissed his nose. "I know, I know, but we made a promise and we don't want anyone to think we're doing anything we shouldn't be doing." She winked at this, "Besides, it'll be nice to see their friends. We haven't seen any of them in so long."

His infamous smirk crept to his lips, "But, Casey, promises are sometimes meant to be broken. Besides, we already did something we shouldn't have been doing. That, my dear, is a lot nicer, and more overdue, than seeing any of their friends."

Casey's lips pulled into a bright smile, "Aw, thanks. That rewards you a kiss on your very-patient lips."

Derek snorted at that, "They're very impatient, actually, but I'll take the kiss." Casey giggled once more and pressed her lips to his. Derek coughed, "I'll take the kiss...after you brush your teeth. Your breath is disgusting."

"I can say exactly the same about yours." Casey stuck her tongue out at him.

"Hm. You're so cute, I might actually take the kiss, bad-breath and all." Derek leaned in once more and Casey captured his lips again. "Mm. Even with bad breath, you're really delicious." He mumbled to an effect where Casey didn't realize he was saying anything.

There was a knock on their door, causing Derek and Casey to jump on complete opposite sides of the bed, instead of the very middle. Both lovers pretended to be sleeping when Lizzie poked her head in. "See, Edwin? I told you nothing went on last night. I wouldn't even be surprised if they were still together!" Lizzie whispered loud enough for the two in bed to hear.

They could hear Edwin's voice outside, "I'm not going to risk waking them up either way. They're both complete witches when you disturb them from their sleep, Liz, and you know that!"

"Edwin, I swear, you are such a pain in my ass!" Lizzie scoffed at him. Casey opened her eyes to look at Lizzie, whose eyes were turned away from their bed. To say she looked upset would be an understatement. To say that she looked torn would only be slightly better. She looked completely ripped apart.

"Lizzie?" Casey spoke, getting up, "What's wrong?"

Lizzie nearly jumped out of her skin, "Good morning, Casey." She smiled, "Nothing's wrong."

"Doesn't sound like it," muttered Derek, also getting up from his slumber. Everyone heard Edwin's steps as he walked away from the room.

Lizzie groaned, "You're right, you're right. I know you're right... I'd just rather not talk about it. Does that seem fair?"

Casey nodded sympathetically, "Of course it does, Lizard, but you and I are going to talk about it together tonight."

"I can't be involved with the conversation?" Both Lizzie and Casey glared at Derek darkly. "Okay, fine, I get it. None of Derek's awfully good advice..." He paused, "But, you know, Ed is my brother, Liz. I know you've been living with him for a long time but I know him better than anybody. If you're having any problems with him, I'm here for you."

"Thanks, Derek." Lizzie smiled genuinely and turned on her heal. _Hopefully it won't come to that._

* * *

**Author's Note: I'm sorry it's so short! I promise to -try- to update soon! The playlist is on my profile! ^_^ Enjoy it and please review.**

**God bless!  
Rose**


	9. Change

_"I can't be involved with the conversation?" Both Lizzie and Casey glared at Derek darkly. "Okay, fine, I get it. None of Derek's awfully good advice..." He paused, "But, you know, Ed is my brother, Liz. I know you've been living with him for a long time but I know him better than anybody. If you're having any problems with him, I'm here for you."_

_"Thanks, Derek." Lizzie smiled genuinely and turned on her heal. _Hopefully it won't come to that.

9. Change

Change was Casey McDonald's worst enemy. She despised it almost as much as it seemed to stalk her. Change was what caused her parents to separate. Change was what caused her father to move to the States. Change was what brought her family together and very nearly ripped it apart again. Change was what caused Derek to fall for Casey. Later, Change caused Casey to accept Derek's marriage proposal, then walk away from it all the very next day. For five years, she thought she was rid of it.

It just never occurred to her that Change would be just what she'd get when she stayed with her family again.

Getting back together with Derek wasn't Change. _There is a fine line between Change and Fate, _Casey believed. Being with Derek again was definitely Fate. _My Fate, anyway. _The tension that was rising between Edwin and Lizzie as each minute ticked closer to their wedding, however, was Change. Casey could sense it.

The feeling Change gave her was nauseating. It felt like the lake of bile in the pit of her stomach was sloshing around, nearly ready to come up her pipes. Change caused all of Casey's muscles to stiffen and her hands to grow sweaty. It caused her voice to go an octave higher than it usually was.

"Derek, can you zip up my dress, please?" He could sense the distress in her voice, despite her trying to cover it up with a cough.

"My pleasure," Derek stopped buttoning his red, silk shirt to help her out.

"Thank you," Casey couldn't help but moan as his electrifying, strong hands glided up her spine.

"Are you going to tell me what's wrong, Spacey?" He inquired when he was done.

Casey turned to face him and nearly burst out laughing, "Derek, finish buttoning your shirt."

He gave her a confused look, "Is there something wrong with my chest?" He frantically began looking for the mirror that he was sure was in his room.

She tried to cover up her giggles by putting her hand over her mouth. "I'm just glad you don't wax your chest hair. Let's just leave it at that." She grabbed his shoulder, turned him around and began buttoning his shirt for him. "That's better."

"Great," claimed Derek, grabbing both of her hands as she removed them from his shirt. They were still clenched. "Now, tell me what's wrong." His eyes squinted as if he were trying to read her mind.

Casey glanced behind her, making sure the door was closed, then glanced back at Derek. "It's Liz. Well, of course you knew that. I'm worried about her."

"How so?" Casey heard the concern deep in his voice.

Casey shrugged, "I'm not sure. I think she's stressed out, Der. Can you tie my dress, please?"

"About the wedding?" He picked up the red fabric attached to her dress and tied it.

"Partly," supplied Casey, "and partly because of Edwin, our family and the baby."

"I see."

Casey ripped off a coat from a full body-length mirror, "Here's the mirror you were looking for." She stared at the two of them, standing next to each other. Derek was in his red shirt and black dress pants. She was wearing a white dress with a red floral print. Her hair was in a bun, a few pieces of hair caressing her face in curls. His hair was messy and perfect, as usual. She smirked at that; Derek made everything look good.

Little did Casey know that Derek was doing the same thing as her. Except, he was more focused on admiring her hourglass figure, her legs and how beautiful her makeup looked on her. She wore pink lipstick, light blush and light brown eyeshadow. Her eyeliner was also brown, providing a natural tone to her face. Seeing Casey smirk caused him to smirk as well, "We make a good-looking couple."

Casey glanced up at him, her cheeks grew more red. "I love you."

He glanced down at her, their eyes connected. "I love you, too." Casey felt her muscles relax as he brushed his lips across hers.

Marti chose this time to walk in, without knocking. "Looks like you guys aren't faking after all. I knew the stress was just getting to Lizzie." She turned on her heal, "Oh, and the two _lovebirds _are ready to leave. Have fun."

Derek and Casey exchanged looks, but Casey's mouth was hanging open. "Did you catch that sarcasm?" Casey could only nod. "Do you think they'll survive whatever this is?"

Casey shook her head, "No, I don't."

There it was, the bile gliding up her esophagus, causing her to gag. She covered her left hand over her mouth and swallowed to try to keep it down. Her muscles grew limp, instead of tensing back up. She fell against his body. Her middle and index fingers on her right hand barely made contact with her temple.

"Casey?" Derek wrapped his sturdy arm around her waist, "Are you going to be okay?"

* * *

**Author's Note: I got a critique saying that I _explain_ to the reader too much instead of _showing_ the reader. I hope this is better; I'm trying to improve! **

**God bless!  
Rose**


	10. Surprise

_Derek and Casey exchanged looks, but Casey's mouth was hanging open. "Did you catch that sarcasm?" Casey could only nod. "Do you think they'll survive whatever this is?"_

_Casey shook her head, "No, I don't."_

_There it was, the bile gliding up her esophagus, causing her to gag. She covered her left hand over her mouth and swallowed to try to keep it down. Her muscles grew limp, instead of tensing back up. She fell against his body. Her middle and index fingers on her right hand barely made contact with her temple._

_"Casey?" Derek wrapped his sturdy arm around her waist, "Are you going to be okay?"_

10. Surprise

Lizzie could see the way that Edwin was looking at her blonde-haired friend, Melanie, at lunch that day. She acknowledged the two were sneaking looks at each other over their menus. For some reason, though, Lizzie wasn't hurt by any of this. She wasn't sure how long that feeling would last or if she should talk to Casey about it. Either way, she knew what she should have felt. She just didn't feel it. Instead, she felt happiness. She was somehow happy that Edwin couldn't be in love with herself and happy that she could move on.

"Chris, you should have seen her face!" Cried Casey, on the phone with her best friend, Christina, relating the day's events.

"Oh," Christina sighed, "I bet she was really upset."

"Actually?" Casey returned, "She wasn't upset at all. At least, she didn't show it. She acted like there was nothing going on."

"That's strange," Christina commented as she finished the last coat of red paint on her toenails. "I hope everything goes well, sweetie, but I've got to get ready for my date."

"Okay, Chris," mumbled Casey. "Take care and have fun tonight."

"Oh, I _will_. Goodnight, love."

Casey heard the faint _click_ of Christina's phone on the other line and pressed the "End" button on her own.

Derek leaned against the doorframe, "Hey, Princess, are you doing okay?"

Casey smiled at the mention of her old nickname. It amused her that once, a long time ago, it had been said to her in a tone of annoyance, how Derek usually followed it with a facial expression that said Oh-my-God-I-wish-you-would-die. Now, it was a soft tone, a tone of endearment rather than immense enmity.

"I'm doing fine," she answered, wrapping her arms around her knees. "How are-?"

"Liz kicked Edwin out of their room. Then, my parents and Nora kicked him out of the house."

Casey winced, she knew Edwin deserved even worse than that but he was still her step-brother. Besides, it wasn't like he had kissed the girl or anything as frivolous as that. There was simply a connection, and a lot of of flirting, with the girl all throughout lunch.

"I'm having a hard time believing Lizzie is so upset about that. Does he have a place to stay?"

"She didn't kick him out for that." Derek responded, "She kicked him out for trying to apologize. He's staying at Melanie's house."

Anger thrust itself at Casey, "What a friend to have! Edwin's making it worse by staying with her, that back-stabbing little b-"

"Case!" Derek interrupted, walking toward her, "Melanie was the only one who would answer the phone when he called. Besides, they didn't necesssarily do anything wrong. Sure, they were flirting and Edwin is, or was, about to get married but they weren't..." Derek let his sentence drop, realizing that there was no way to defend his brother's actions.

"It's so much bigger than that, though, Der." Casey mused as he pulled her on his lap. She looked him directy in the eyes, "Lizzie has known since she found out she was pregnant that she's not in love with Edwin."

"What are you talking about?" There was no hiding the look of surprise on his face.

Casey kissed his forehead, "First of all, Lizzie was only getting married to Ed because she thought that was what he wanted, especially after she got pregnant. Today, Edwin also realized that he doesn't love Lizzie that way."

Derek was silent, a grim expression settled on his handsome features.

"I'm not angry at Ed, not really." She sighed, "I just know that Liz is upset and I don't know what she's upset about. Edwin's just the easiest person to be angry at, for some reason." She stood up, "I'm going to talk to her."

Without anymore questions or Derek trying to stop her, Casey left the room for her sister's room.

"Hey, Liz," Casey said, opening the door and walking in. She sat on the bed, next to her sister.

Lizzie looked up from the book she was reading, set it down, and smiled, "Hey, Case."

"How are you?"

Lizzie laughed, "I'm feeling great." She wasn't lying. "Of course, I wish Ed wasn't kicked out of the house. That move was a bit unnecessary. The only reason I kicked him out of our room was because we're not together anymore. Why sleep in the same room when we know that?" She didn't wait for Casey to answer her, "Besides, I've got important news to tell him."

Not only had Casey heard the happiness set in her sister's voice, she couldn't hear one ounce of regret that it was over. "Really?" Casey took interest in Lizzie's last statement, "What's up?"

In an overly-ecstatic voice, Lizzie said, "I started my period today after lunch! I'm not pregnant! The pregnancy test was wrong!"

Casey felt her mouth fall open. She knew pregnancy tests could be wrong but it had just seemed so unlikely. She said nothing to Lizzie.

"I was surprised, too," Lizzie added hastily, "But this leaves Edwin and me to move on. He can start dating Melanie, should he wish to do that, and I can do whatever the hell I want."

Casey blinked, "I know you weren't truly in love with Edwin but it still astounds me that you're so... _okay_ with him dating your best friend, especially after being together for so long and nearly having a kid with him."

Lizzie shrugged, "I'm not really sure how to explain it, Case. I mean... I should be bothered by this. Everything about this entire situation should upset me to the extreme. It bothers me that it doesn't bother me, you could definitely say that. It really should cause me at least some discomfort. Edwin and I are best friends, though, Case. I will always love him, mind you, but I don't think I can ever be in love with him. I was foolish to think I was for so long." She stared at her sister after her explanation. She knew that Casey would understand, in a sense. She also feared that Casey would begin to mistake her feelings for Derek as just friendship as well.

Casey, however, thought back to earlier that day. She remembered how positively sibling-like Edwin and Lizzie had acted and how Lizzie (yes, Lizzie) had teased Melanie and Edwin for liking each other. Suddenly, she wondered, _Do Derek and I ever act like Ed and Liz?_

Casey could feel Lizzie's eyes staring her down. "Well if you're sure you're okay..." She jumped to her feet and left the room before Lizzie could say anything else.

_That's it then, _thought Casey. _Edwin and Lizzie are over, for good... It just doesn't seem like this story is over yet._

* * *

**Author's Note: Comments, questions, concerns? Incorporate all of that into your review. I'm sorry it took so long to update but it won't for the next chapter! Oh, and I've decided that this story will have a sequel. I've already got it planned out. I won't tell you what it's about until this story is over, though. If I give anything away before-hand, it'll spoil the end of this story. Please review!**

**God bless!  
Rose**


	11. Like A Statue

_Lizzie shrugged, "I'm not really sure how to explain it, Case. I mean... I should be bothered by this. Everything about this entire situation should upset me to the extreme. It bothers me that it doesn't bother me, you could definitely say that. It really should cause me at least some discomfort. Edwin and I are best friends, though, Case. I will always love him, mind you, but I don't think I can ever be in love with him. I was foolish to think I was for so long." She stared at her sister after her explanation. She knew that Casey would understand, in a sense. She also feared that Casey would begin to mistake her feelings for Derek as just friendship as well._

_Casey, however, thought back to earlier that day. She remembered how positively sibling-like Edwin and Lizzie had acted and how Lizzie (yes, Lizzie) had teased Melanie and Edwin for liking each other. Suddenly, she wondered, _Do Derek and I ever act like Ed and Liz?

_Casey could feel Lizzie's eyes staring her down. "Well if you're sure you're okay..." She jumped to her feet and left the room before Lizzie could say anything else._

That's it then,_ thought Casey. _Edwin and Lizzie are over, for good... It just doesn't seem like this story is over yet.

11. Like A Statue

"Do you think our relationship is anything like Lizzie and Edwin?" Casey inquired after telling Derek everything Lizzie had said.

"What?" Derek responded, "First of all, that story doesn't make sense. Pregnancy tests are never wrong! Secondly, Edwin and Lizzie are nothing like brother and sister. Which brings me to my answer; yes, I think our relationship is a lot like their relationship."

Casey glared harshly at the man lying in bed who was wearing nothing but deep-green boxers. "Derek, you wouldn't know that. You're a boy who doesn't pay attention to the most simple facts of life. Edwin and Lizzie are pretty much _twins, _for Pete's sake! You _should_ know that." A cold laugh escaped her lips, "You better hope our relationship isn't like what they've been through.

"If that's what you think, though, then I can leave right now. Why waste anymore time, huh?" She began pacing the room once more.

Derek mentally winced at her words but said nothing, rolling his eyes. He suddenly felt like everything he had worked hard to get was about to disappear from his life for good. He stood their emotionless, like it didn't affect him whatsoever. It was almost like he didn't care and Casey saw this.

He did care, more than anyone could ever know. Threatening to leave him again was like throwing a million daggers at his heart, not missing it once. Her tone was piercing and so were her eyes. She was beyond upset... Derek said nothing about it because he didn't understand. He stood so still because he was afraid that if he made an effort to touch her, he'd break down. He didn't want her to see him cry. He couldn't do that. It was just so...

It was Derek's belief that real men didn't cry. Tough guys don't cry, either. Derek was both.

Casey glanced at Derek sadly. She didn't understand how this morning he had been so endearing and now he was like a statue.

She realized that deserting him everytime they were going through a tough time wasn't the best idea to do. She knew that deserting him at all was just wrong, no matter why she did it. She just couldn't figure out why he was acting so cold. If she was threatening to leave him, he should make every desperate attempt to make her take him back, for her not to leave.

He just sat there.

Casey bit her lip, "I should have realized that you were too good to be true. I can't believe I actually thought you had changed." Her voice oozed with acid.

Derek blinked, confused and dazed. He had spent the past five minutes trying to figure out how their conversation had gone from Lizzie and Edwin leaving each other to Casey leaving him. He wasn't even sure what he did that pissed her off this much. He knew she was being too sensitive and that the feeling would pass over...

But Casey McDonald had left even when she wasn't offended before.

She didn't necessarily have a legitimate reason now but she was certainly offended.

Derek stood up and walked over to the door, opening it. He didn't want to fight. He didn't know why Casey was even trying to pick a fight with him. It felt like the sparks that had been there earlier that day were gone. Tinkerbell must have died and he didn't even notice she was missing. "If you feel so strongly about nothing, Casey, then just leave."

Casey sat down on the floor, crouched over like she had been punched in the stomach. Derek could hear her gasping, as if she was in pain. He saw her shaking her head, rolling her eyes. Whether she was rolling her eyes at herself or at him, he didn't know.

"I can't do this anymore, Derek. I was foolish to ever come back in the first place, even if it was for my sister's wedding." She shook her head once more, "All to come back to a loser like you who can't even voice his feelings and man up and tell me how he truly feels. Yeah, you've said that you love me but there's never any emotion put behind it. You don't put any conviction into your words.

"I need to get away from you, away from this God-forsaken family. I need to grow up, meet someone that I know loves me, get married and have a family. That's not there with you, Derek. It never will be." She stood up, "I will leave. Tomorrow morning when you wake up, I won't be home anymore. I won't come back this time, believe me."

Derek shook his head, disgusted. "You don't know how absolutely ridiculous you sound. I've always been there for you, Casey, always. You get offended by one little statement, if not one little word, and suddenly it's good-bye. Well I'm sorry but I can't be with someone who is never sure of her feelings. You say that I don't tell you how I truly feel. You're the one that's been avoiding how you truly feel for five long years, dammit. So screw you, Casey. I'll be glad when you're gone."

Without another word, he was out of the room. Casey didn't bother calling him back or figuring out where he went to.

She had packing to do.

* * *

**Author's Note: -hides- PLEASE don't kill me. Yes, I know, Casey makes absolutely no sense. It's CASEY for crying out loud. So I feel like I'm about to get murdered because I just ruined Lizwin and Dasey for this story. Sadly, there will be no more Lizwin except friendship. FOR NOW, there will be no more Dasey, either... It's all leading up to the sequel. I'm sure you'll all like the sequel... and finally forgive me for this when it's all said-and-done...**

**God bless!  
Rose**


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